ON DRUG GRINDING. 
205 
ever since that time the large bulk of the drugs I have to do with 
are far superior to what they had previously been. The institu- 
tion of the College of Pharmacy was about the same period of the 
introduction of quinine into general use. Previous to that time I 
powdered immense quantities of Peruvian bark — 1000 lbs. where 
I now do 50. The great bulk of it was a miserable spurious article, 
such as no respectable druggist of this day would touch. I rarely see 
it now. Nearly all the bark I powder now is of the best qualities ; 
and so with other articles — jalap and rhubarb, for instance — both of 
which have greatly decreased in the quantity powdered, but im- 
proved in the quality. 
Every experienced druggist is aware of the fact that the sale of 
powdered drugs has greatly decreased in this city, in the last 
fifteen or twenty years. There are several reasons for this ; the 
principal one, perhaps, is that extracts and other preparations 
have taken the place of powders, but I believe their sale has not 
decreased in the same proportion in other cities. There is a 
special reason for this, and that has been the superior fineness of 
their powders ; I allude now to their fineness of division, not their 
purity. Twenty years back ours were superior to theirs, but, 
as I stated before, I was forced to reduce the standard about fifteen 
years since, and I will now explain how it came about. For a 
period of about sixteen years I had pretty much a monopoly of 
the powdering for this city, and during all that time had a regular 
list of prices, precisely the same as they existed in New York, 
and from which I never deviated. My establishment was then, 
and is now, of sufficient capacity to powder in five months steady 
work, all the drugs that are required to be powdered in this city 
in a year, and, with the prices I then received, I could successfully 
compete w T ith any one, and produce powders equal to any other 
place in the world. There is no difficulty in i educing powders to 
any required degree of fineness; the only question with me is, will 
it pay ? About fifteen years since I had some competitors, who in 
order to obtain business, reduced the prices, at the same time re- 
ducing in a much greater ratio the quality or standard of the pow- 
ders. The druggists insisted on my charging the same as they 
charged. I resisted as long as I could, but was finally obliged to 
give up, and the only thing I could do in self-defence was, at the 
same time to reduce my standard of fineness ; and as it appeared to 
